The Legend of the Condor Heroes

Huang Rong was laughing hard, but upon hearing Guo Jing's story she was silent for half a day with a deep frown on her face. Hong Qigong smiled and said, "The Old Beggar is once again capable of walking on my own feet, it was truly a blessing from Heaven. I don't care if it was a true martial art or a fake one. Rong'er, you are afraid the Western Poison will see through this deception, aren't you?" Huang Rong nodded. "The Old Poison has good eyesight," Hong Qigong continued, "How can we fool him that easily? But life is full of uncertainties, right now it is useless to worry over nothing. Hear me now: Jing'er had recited the contents of the manual to me. There is a section which was called 'yi jin duan gu pian' [changing muscle forging bones] or something; I think it was very interesting. While we don't have anything else to do, why don't we practice it?"

These words were said with gentleness and indifference, but Huang Rong was aware of the urgency of the situation. What their master had said was very reasonable; therefore, she said, "Very well, Shifu, please teach us."

Hong Qigong asked Guo Jing to recite the 'yi jin duan gu pian' twice, and then based on that he taught the two on how to practice it. He himself went out hunting or fishing, lighted the fire and cooked their meals. Several times Guo Jing and Huang Rong offered their help, but every time he shooed them away.

Quickly seven days had passed; Guo and Huang had made some progress in term of their energy cultivation. Inside his cave Ouyang Feng was also painstakingly studying his Manual, putting all his effort in doing so. Toward the evening of the eighth day Hong Qigong smiled and said, "Rong'er, how was your Master's roasted wild goat?"

Huang Rong smiled but did not say anything, she simply shook her head. Hong Qigong laughed, "I can't eat it myself. You two have finished the first part of your lesson; today you must rest your muscle and bones, otherwise your 'qi' will be obstructed and you will suffer injury. Alright, Rong'er, you prepare our meal tonight, Jing'er and I will go and build a raft."

Guo Jing and Huang Rong were astonished, "Building a raft?"

"That's right," Hong Qigong said, "Do you want to accompany the Old Poison on this desolate island forever?"

Guo and Huang were delighted, they both voiced their agreement, and start to work immediately.

The hundred lumbers Guo Jing cut down the other day were piled neatly on the side. They cut the tree bark and wove them into ropes and tied the lumber together to make the raft. When Guo Jing used his strength to pull the rope, it snapped and broke. He thought the rope was not made strong enough. He tried pulling another rope, but as soon as he exerted a little strength, it also broke easily. Guo Jing was baffled, he stared blankly at the rope and did not know what to do.

From the other side of the hill Huang Rong came shouting with a wild goat in her hands. When going out to hunt for the goat she carried some pebbles to shoot the goat with; who would have thought that with only several jumps she had already overtook the goat. She turned around and grabbed the wild goat. Her body movement was so swift that she surprised even herself.

Hong Qigong smiled, "So the Nine Yin Manual is truly a wonderful manual; no wonder countless heroes and warriors were willing to risk their lives for it."

Huang Rong was delighted, "Shifu, do you think we can beat the Old Poison now?" she asked.

Hong Qigong shook his head, "Not yet, it is still far from that," he replied, "You have to train for another eight to ten years. His Toad Stance is not a small matter; no martial art can break it except Wang Chongyang's Solitary Yang Finger"

Huang Rong pouted and said, "Then even if we train for another eight to ten years we may still won't be able to defeat him."

"That's hard to say," Hong Qigong concurred, "Perhaps the martial art in that book is fiercer than I thought."

"Rong'er, please be patient," Guo Jing said, "There is nothing wrong with learning a new skill."

A few more days passed, Guo Jing and Huang Rong had finished the second part of the Changing Muscle Forging Bones. The raft was also ready. The three of them wove a sail from tree barks; they also prepared some fresh water and food on the raft. All along Ouyang Feng was indifferent to what they were doing; he simply watched their activities with a cold look.

One evening everything was ready, they planned on sailing the next day. Just before bed that night Huang Rong asked, "Do we have to say goodbye to them?"

"Not only that, we must make a ten year agreement with them," Guo Jing answered, "They have bullied us so bad, how can we forget it?"

Huang Rong clapped her hands, "Absolutely! I pray to the Heaven to bless those two thieves that they can go back to the mainland, and also to give the Old Poison ten more years of life. Otherwise, to restore Shifu's martial art quickly, so that in one or two years we can look for him; that would be even better."

The next day before the crack of dawn Hong Qigong awoke; indistinctly he heard some noise from the shore. He quickly called, "Jing'er, did you hear that noise from the beach?"

Guo Jing got up immediately and jumped down the tree. Once he saw what happened on the beach he could not stop cursing; immediately he rushed forward to pursue. By this time Huang Rong was also awoke and ran after him, calling out, "Brother Jing, what's the matter?"

Guo Jing shouted from a distant, "Those two wicked thieves stole our raft." Hearing this Huang Rong was shocked.

By the time they got to the beach Ouyang Feng had already carried his nephew on the raft, raised the sail and had already several 'zhang's away from land. Guo Jing was furious, he was about to jump into the ocean to pursue, but Huang Rong pulled his sleeve and said, "They are already too far."

Ouyang Feng laughed a big laugh, "Many thanks for the raft!" he shouted.

Guo Jing stomped his feet in rage, furiously he kicked a red sandalwood tree nearby. Suddenly Huang Rong got an idea, "I got it!" she called out. She took a big rock then placed it on the tree branch. She wanted to use the tree as a slingshot. "Pull this tree," she said, "We will hurl the rock out."

Guo Jing was delighted. He braced his legs on the tree root and pulled the trunk backward with all his might. Sandalwood tree was strong but pliable; it bent almost completely down but did not break. Guo Jing let his hands go and with a whooshing sound the big rock flew to the sea and fell by the raft's side, creating a 'zhang' high big splash.

"Pity!" Huang Rong called out. She took another rock, aimed carefully and let go. This time the rock hit the raft right on, but the raft construction was too good, it did not break. Two people launched three more rocks, but all of them fell into the water.

Seeing all their rocks missed their target, Huang Rong got a crazy idea. "Quick, use me as the cannonball!" she shouted. Guo Jing was startled, unclear of what she meant. Huang Rong explained, "Hurl me into the sea, I'll deal with them."

Guo Jing knew her water skill was excellent, her lightness kungfu was excellent too; he saw no danger in complying with her request. He drew his dagger out and put it in her hand. "Be careful," he said. He pulled the tree one more time. Huang Rong sat steadily on the branch and called out, "Fire away!"